What do you know about bailiffs coming to the door?

My friend was out last week and that's exactly what happened. She lives in a shared house and the person she was paying rent to got behind with the council tax from a couple of years ago. The council office say they owe £600 and the baliff has bumped it up to 1200. My friend can't sleep. She's on her own in the house and having to pay the rent on her own. If she managed to find £600 could she at it straight to the council and that would be it?

I had one turn up at my flat once for someone I had never heard of. I told them thus, and they very graciously went away and never bothered me again. It is to do with the person that ran up the bill, not you. if in doubt, call the CAB or even the council themselves.

Tell her to contact the council ASAP. If there's doubt over who owes the money, they can recall the case from the bailiffs.

If the person named on the bailiffs paperwork is not your friend, then she can show some ID to the bailiff and they will bugger off.

In the meantime, they CANNOT break into her house unless she's already let them in previously & agreed a walking possession order. (Theoretically, they can do this if the order has been signed, but in practice this is rare).

Tell her not to let the bailiffs in AT ALL and don't pay them a thing. If they can't collect from her, it will be referred back to the council any way. If she's worried about going to prison for not paying - this ONLY happens to refusers (people who could pay but won't), never people who can't (genuinely can't), and your friend would be one of those.

Right: bailiffs are nearly always private companies rather than civil servants, which means they are often dishonest, particularly about how much extra they try to charge on top of the debt. There is a maximum they are legally allowed to charge, but many of them ignore this. There's been a fair bit in the press about the dodgy tactics they often use, and your friend should know her rights and stand up to the bastards.

First thing to do is get on to the council and find out exactly how much is owed, and try to make an arrangement to pay in installments.

I'm a bit confused. Is your friend renting the property from the owner, or is she subletting from another tenant? If the property owner owes the tax, then she should be able to show her lease to prove she doesn't own the property. If she's a co-tenant then she may in fact be liable for the debt, and she may need to pay it, then take the person who owes the money to civil claims to reclaim the money due.

I read somewhere that Council Tax and CSA are the only organisations who can have debts deducted straight from your wages so you need to get this sorted pronto. You definitely will have to pay if your name is on the bill - but better on your terms than theirs.

Ugh I've had dealings with those particular bailiffs. Don't let them in. No matter what Not even for " oh it's raining mind if I just pop in" or " I won't take anything and I can help you if I can Just use your table to fill this in" "can I use the loo" ect. Leave them outside. Allowing them peaceful entry once means they can break in next time. Email or call your local council, explain the situation and offer installmenta directly with them. As long as she hasn't got a car at the property for them to levy on just blank the bailiffs and after a few unsuccessful tries they will return it to the council anyway.

The bailiffs will try anything. " I can accept instalments if I can come in and or you sign this sheet" (walking possession order) so they can break in next time. Deal directly with the council if possible.